American tycoon Ken Griffin is “joining forces with Chicago Cubs owners to make an offer to BLOCKBUSTER to acquire Chelsea… bid expected to be filed Friday ahead of schedule”
- The Ricketts family and Ken Griffin will reportedly set up an investment group and submit an official offer to Chelsea.
- This coming Friday, the group intends to submit a bid to purchase the outfit in west London.
- Griffin founded the American hedge fund company Citadel Asset Management.
- Forbes recently valued the 53-year-old’s net worth at £20 billion ($26.5 billion).
- The Ricketts led the revamp of the Chicago Cubs, which won the World Series in 2016.
American tycoon Ken Griffin has reportedly joined forces with Chicago Cubs owners to launch a blockbuster bid to own Chelsea.
Sky says the Ricketts and Griffin family have teamed up to form an investment group and will file a formal offer on Friday to acquire the west London company.
This coincides with the deadline set by the American commercial bank Raine Group for the submission of proposals.
A spokesman for the consortium told Sky: “The Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm that they will lead an investment team that will make a formal bid this Friday to acquire Chelsea Football Club.
“As longtime leaders of a legendary professional sports team, the Ricketts family and their partners understand the importance of investing in success on the pitch while respecting the traditions of the club, fans and community.
“We look forward to sharing more details about our plans in due course.”
Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel Asset Management, an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company.
Forbes recently valued the 53-year-old’s net worth at £20bn ($26.5bn), making him the richest person in the public domain with an interest in resolving Chelsea’s crisis by buying the club from Roman Abramovich.
American tycoon Ken Griffin has reportedly joined forces with Chicago Cubs owners to launch a blockbuster bid to acquire Chelsea.
Griffin joined forces with Chicago Cubs chairman Thomas Ricketts (center) and his family.
The Rickett family fortune came from founding an online brokerage company called TD Ameritrade, now called The Charles Schwab Corporation.
The family, including Cubs chairman Tom and his three siblings Peter, Laura and Todd, have shared the Cubs property with their parents since 2009 through a family trust.
It is also reported that the Ricketts showed interest in Chelsea in advance, making an offer to buy the club in 2018. In recent years, the family has also been linked with an offer to acquire AC Milan.
They have been successful in the past six years in Major League Baseball, with only their third World Series win in their history in 2016.
It is also reported that the Ricketts showed interest in Chelsea in advance in 2018.
Bidders want to buy the club from Roman Abramovich (above) after he was sanctioned
They also completed a $1 billion renovation of the team’s home stadium called Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914.
But now it is expected that their joint efforts with Griffin will create serious competition for other interested parties.
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has reportedly bid to buy the club for £2bn.
The American businessman — a longtime ally of former US President Donald Trump — hopes to close a deal before Friday’s deadline, The Sun reports.
His bid is less than the £2.7bn offered by the Saudi media group, but he believes he can win thanks to his extensive connections in London.
The submission deadline for the coming Friday has been set by the Raine group.
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson (center) has reportedly filed a bid to buy Chelsea.
Currently, real estate developer Nick Candy, a Swiss-American consortium and a group led by British businessman Sir Martin Broughton are among the most serious contenders.
But reports say the Swiss-American consortium, which includes Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, American tycoon Todd Boly and London-based real estate investor Jonathan Goldstein, is still looking to complete their team.
Blick Swiss Outlet claim their team is understaffed as previously suggested and therefore they are still looking for partners and this week’s deadline is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, Ghanaian businessman Bernard Antwi Boasiako has also thrown his hat into the ring, promising to bring stability back to Chelsea after confirming to Sportsmail that he is interested in bidding for the club.
Claims surfaced last week that the gold mine owner was looking into a bid to buy crisis-hit club Stamford Bridge, and a spokesman for the African businessman confirmed his interest.
Currently, real estate developer Nick Candy (center) is one of the serious contenders.
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